₹ 1 cr annual salary: With the growth of AI and demand from MNCs, this job will become the highest paying engineering role in India

Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) roles are on track to become the highest paid engineers in the country, according to a report by AI education firm Scaler and CyberMedia Research (CMR).

India’s FDE Opportunity report surveyed 1,000 software engineers and 200 enterprise technology decision-makers across eight metros and select Tier II cities and found that 88% of enterprises expect demand for FDE capabilities to grow by 2030, but only 1% of engineers are in explicit FDE roles today.

“FDE is shaping up to be one of the most defining engineering careers of this decade. As companies around the world race to turn AI into business outcomes, engineers who can bridge the gap between AI technology and its real-world applications will be critical to making this shift happen,” said Amar Srivastava, CEO – Online Business & Group CPO, Scaler.

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What is Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE)?

As businesses incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into day-to-day operations, they increasingly need engineers who can sit down with the customer, understand what the business needs and take AI solutions from idea to deployment, according to the report. That is the job of a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) and it is fast becoming one of the most important and in-demand roles in India.

— FDEs help bridge the gap between AI innovation and real-world outcomes, putting India’s engineering workforce in a strong position to lead the AI transition.

The gap is beyond capability

— The report says the gap goes beyond skills; it is also consciousness.

— Nine out of ten engineers are not aware of a structured progression pathway for FDE roles, although 58% say they want to move into one.

— The capabilities most valued by businesses at FDE are applied artificial intelligence that brings products into production and works directly with customers. These are also the areas where engineers feel least confident.

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— Coding, once the clearest differentiator, is now only a starting point: businesses are twice as likely to test candidates on implementation skills than coding.

— 61% of enterprises prioritize customer involvement in FDE roles, but 37% of engineers cite it as their biggest career obstacle.

— 77% of businesses prioritize manufacturing deployment skills, but talent availability is only 19%.

— 51% of surveyed businesses prioritize evaluating production deployment and problem solving when evaluating FDE candidates.

Annual salary packages available ₹40 million ₹1 crore

For engineers building these skills, this opportunity could be significant.

— 80% of engineers in explicit FDE roles report annual earnings ranging from ₹40 million ₹1 crore.

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These figures highlight the earning potential associated with FDE capabilities and the opportunity for engineers to build specialized skills for this emerging career, the report added.

The findings further point to an emerging opportunity for India: developing a specialized engineering career path while addressing gaps in applied artificial intelligence, manufacturing adoption and customer problem solving.

“This presents an opportunity for India to build on its existing engineering talent by strengthening applied AI, deployment and customer-facing capabilities. Developing these skills will be key to preparing engineers for emerging FDE roles, enabling them to bridge the gap between technology development and real-world execution,” opined Prabhu Ram, Vice President – Industry Research Group (IRG), CMR.

Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The above opinions and recommendations are those of individual analysts or brokerage firms and not of Mint. We encourage investors to check with certified professionals before making any investment decision.